Connecore

From Google maps to Google body

suzanne — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:55:04 +0000

After more than three months of tennis elbow, I looked at an old poster of the body during shockwave therapy today and could not see how my elbow was connected to the muscles that hurt. It made me curious to explore Google’s new body browser to see if it could teach me more. It just seems so outdated to learn about the body from plastic skeletons or posters on a wall. Instead, this simple 3D model allows you to look at the body from different angles and include/exclude bones, blood vessels, nerves and muscles. Google body is still just a beta version and you’ll need to be using Chrome, but even though I couldn’t find the infamous Lateral epicondyle (which is at the heart of tennis elbow according to Wikipedia) I ended up playing with the body browser for a long time, loving the interface, simplicity and how intuitive it is. I can’t wait for this to be further developed. Imagine entering any injury and seeing in perfect 3D the areas of your body that are affected and how they connect. Also imagine the possible discussions about data collection and information storage when it comes to collection of data regarding our bodies…

The handbag that could feed a quarter million children

suzanne — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:19 +0000

My last post actually made me recall an old post that I had written and I decided to post it here again. In an old blog that I have since removed, I wrote a post about losing perspectives with luxury goods. That we have created a society where people can own (and pay for) a handbag that could feed a quarter of a million children. And that this is considered fashion. At the end of the day, it’s all about perspectives and I think we as a global society seem to loose perspective on consumption.

So what was I referring to? Well, in 2007 Luis Vuitton made 24 copies of their most expensive handbag to date that cost 45 000 USD. They sold out.

To put things in perspective, I looked at Doctors without borders’ homepage and learned that the same amount of money could buy:

Two high-energy meals a day to more than 257,000 children
OR
Infection-fighting antibiotics to treat nearly 18,000 wounded children
OR
Emergency medical supplies to aid 225,000 disaster victims for an entire month

Putting Darfur on the map: paying the price

suzanne — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:08:27 +0000

What started out with an art student selling t-shirts to raise money for Darfur is taking even more twisted turns as of lately. In 2007 Nadia Plesner started an art project to raise awareness on Darfur. In her own words:
“As I was reading the book “Not on our watch” by Don Cheadle and John Prendergast, I felt horrified by the fact that even with the genocide and other ongoing atrocities in Darfur, Paris Hilton’s prison insident was the one story getting all the attention.
Is it possible that show business has outruled common sense?”

She named the project “simple living” after Paris Hilton’s reality tv-show and drew a child in Darfur holding a similar dog and hand bag as Hilton. She then put the print on t-shirts for sale to raise money for Darfur. The t-shirts were an online success. And she was contacted by Louis Vuitton. But not to offer to help her with the campaign, instead asking her to stop it as they felt the bag in the drawing was a violation of their copyrights. In response, she posted their letter on her webpage and continued her sales, but after a hefty lawsuit and tons of media attention, she eventually started using a new drawing to focus on the campaign instead of court.

Now, three years later she has been convicted in a second court case where she was sued by Louis Vuitton. This time it’s about her artwork Darfurnica (after Picasso’s Guernica) that includes the original drawing of the child in Darfur in the middle of the painting. She has been sentenced to pay 5000 euro per day that she continues to show the painting (since Jan 28). Ironically, at the same time, Nadia Plesner herself was packing a new container with medical equipment for Darfur. And she has gotten Darfur back in the media.

BRICS perspectives on nurturing innovation

suzanne — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:19:09 +0000

In response to Hu Jintao speaking on the importance of innovation this week, this article in China Daily highlights inquisitiveness as the mother of innovation but that it goes against Chinese tradition to ask questions. It is suggested that this causes a dilemma as an inquisitive mind is an innovative mind. But the journalist sets a positive tone highlighting nationwide discussions.

It made me recall a recent, different but similar, discussion on the same topic (i.e the importance of innovation and what lies in its way) in another BRICS country, namely Brazil. A few months ago when I was speaking at the International innovation congress hosted by the federation of Industries of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (FIERGS), there was a discussion after the panel. From the audience it was suggested that we could not expect innovation in Brazil as long as there is poverty and people starve. An innovate mind has it’s basic needs met people said. I would argue that innovation can exist in every setting and many of the most exciting innovations today are being developed in places people do not see as innovative by groups that are not often seen as drivers of innovation (when using “old” measures for innovation such as patents, rather than actual solutions to real needs). The 21st century will be different from the 20th century. I have to say that I thought it was interesting to hear these kind of “excuses” in Rio Grande do Sul – one of the most prosperous Brazilian states with a thriving industry…

Digital tools of the future

suzanne — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:59:56 +0000

Kicking off the new year with discussions on app development and possibilities to increase transparency in our daily choices. I’m currently meeting entrepreneurs and developers in Amsterdam and we’re discussing the transparency potential of apps to make the invisible visible. We’ve been going back and forth on the feasibility of adding a feature enabling users to hold up their phones and seeing data such as “green” credentials, contributions to poverty reduction and other relevant facts to make better informed decisions immediately on their screens. Having worked on developing applications and capturing their transformative potential, I can definitely appreciate the challenge this perspective has since it’s not in line with the simple and light entertainment offered by so many popular first generation apps. Nevertheless, it’s what we need for the future.

A coincidence is actually that my last time here in Amsterdam was on the same topic in May 2010 for GRI’s Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency. At the conference both me and Jennifer Pollard from Microsoft were actually talking about the feature of holding up your smart phone to get additional information about a product or company to make better and informed choices.

Our increase in connectivity and unprecedented capacity of mobile devices to gather and process complex data presents a unique opportunity for sustainable solutions.

REPORT / Arab companies in the 21st century

suzanne — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:33:59 +0000

Focuses on the scope and potential for companies in the UAE and the rest of the Arab world to emerge as leaders in investment and export of sustainable goods and services.

PROJECT / Solar solutions for the future

suzanne — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 01:49:05 +0000

The project “Solar solutions for the future” is an initiative supported by leading companies, cities, academic institutions, and organizations around the world for an accelerated uptake of solar solutions. Many stakeholders have expressed the need for a platform where information and best practices can be shared. “Solar Solutions for the Future” will use innovative digital tools to meet this need, in collaboration with stakeholders by creating a “21st century solar map” featuring best practices in the world. It will be an online illustration/tool to support accelerated solar uptake looking at ideas, companies, cities and individuals/clusters who will be key for a low carbon future.

The initiative will support all solutions that move society toward a sustainable solar-based energy system. It will highlight efforts in all major sectors and will not be limited to the industries typically included in the solar sector.

These policy and business efforts include:

Constructing buildings powered by solar
Manufacturing solar-powered vehicles
Designing IT control systems for solar solutions
Providing logistics for goods and services based on availability of solar energy
Developing software applications that help customers understand the benefits of solar solutions
Communicating key solar messages in marketing

Solar solutions is not about a specific company, sector, or technology; it’s a paradigm shift. Everyone can win by supporting solar solutions as they present a historic opportunity to support job creation and innovation – as well as CO2 reductions and a sustainable economy. This opportunity could be leveraged by the implementation of a “21st century solar map” using cutting-edge web solutions.

LEAFLET / 21st century solar map

suzanne — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:20:16 +0000

The 21st century solar map identifies strategic best practices to ensure sustainable job creation, innovation, and smart city development.

The criteria for inclusion in the map are:

Supporting innovation and knowledge through collaboration
Fighting unemployment and exclusion by creating new jobs
Ensuring green growth through more efficient use of resources and energy, and through the application of new, greener technologies
Creating smart transport and energy infrastructure for the 21st century

Ideas, companies, cities and individuals/clusters will be highlighted in this digital tool/web 2.0 platform to support the accelerated uptake of solar solutions by cities and companies.

This platform will:

Identify strategic solar solutions for the future
Provide best practices
Facilitate interaction among change agents
Support innovation
Encourage job creation
Identify thresholds

The platform will be open to all stakeholders supporting an accelerated uptake of solar solutions.

Download the information leaflet (pdf)

PROJECT / From workplace to anyplace

suzanne — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:45:25 +0000

Information and Communication Technologies (IT/ICT) provide a broad range of solutions to both public and private organizations and businesses, particularly in the service industry. Seen from a climate change perspective, these solutions are interesting as they can reduce the need to travel for work related purposes, thus enabling a reduction in GHG emissions from transportation.

The two services looked into during this project were:

Teleworking:
defined as performing work, either for an outside employer or through self-employment, at home or from any remote location (e.g. away from the office or any other “traditional” workplace)
Virtual meetings (also known as teleconferencing):
defined as work related meetings involving two or more geographically separated locations and enabled by the use of telecommunication applications, in which communication may be exclusively audio Audioconferencing (AC), audio and video Videoconferencing (VC), or enabled by the web Webconferencing

ACADEMIC REPORT / From workplace to anyplace

suzanne — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 02:46:44 +0000

This report focuses on the opportunities to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in work-related contexts, thanks to the deployment of IT solutions that enable one or more individuals to work or collaborate remotely. In particular the report analyzes the potential associated with teleworking and virtual meetings to reduce carbon emissions from daily commuting by car and business air travel and the conditions under which such potential can be realized. The goal of the report is to gain an understanding of the scale of the opportunities available, while identifying the key drivers that may enable or hinder the full achievement of such opportunities.

The first part of the report provides a background on current trends in teleworking and virtual meetings in key regions around the world. This is followed by the description of four potential ‘future worlds’ that would result in different outcomes of global GHG emissions. The final part of the report discusses the policies and strategies that can be deployed jointly, by policy makers and IT providers and users, to foster the adoption of solutions such as teleworking and virtual meetings and to maximize their benefits in terms of GHG emission reductions.

Utilizing different projections of future worlds, the report analyses not only the direct effect of these technologies, but also different types of indirect effects from the uptake of these technologies that can result in both decreased and increased GHG emissions. These can be characterized in two ways:

Low-carbon feedback, if a solution that directly leads to GHG emissions reductions also generates changes in behaviour, economic activities, processes or societal organization that in turn lead to additional GHG reductions.
High-carbon feedback, if a solution that directly leads to GHG emissions reductions also leads to changes in behaviour, economic activities, processes or societal organizations that in turn lead to additional GHG emissions, which may compensate, in full or partially, the GHG emission reductions initially/directly achieved.

Download the report in pdf (2.9MB)